Calling-party-pays call processing for cellular and paging

ABSTRACT

An enhanced Calling Party Pays (CPP) or Paging Party Pays (PPP) system that enables 1) billing of calls originating from traditionally non-billable sources, 2) routing of incoming calls to voicemail if the caller does not wish to incur the additional charges, 3) allowing the caller to complete the call and charge the cellular (or paging) subscriber for additional air-time usage when the caller enters a PIN or security code, also referred to as a billing override code, and 4) allowing the caller to block CPP/PPP charges from being billed to the calling party

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.09/861,460 filed May 18, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,570,970, which is acontinuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/061,514 filed Apr. 16, 1998(now U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,056), each of which is hereby incorporated byreference herein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of processing telephone callswhere the called party is a cellular subscriber or a paging systemsubscriber. More particularly, the invention relates to methods of callprocessing to provide enhanced billing, routing, and messaging services.

B. Description of the Related Art

Cellular system subscribers typically are charged a fee for use of thecellular system, regardless of whether the cellular subscriber initiatesor receives the call. Similarly, paging system subscribers are charged afee for paging calls received. Subscribers may not have control over whocalls (or pages) them, other than to keep their phone number out of thepublic domain. However, maintaining an unlisted number hasdisadvantages, and may not be practical for a business setting.Consequently, systems that require the calling party to pay, known asCalling Party Pays (CPP) and Paging Party Pays (PPP) systems, have beenimplemented to charge a calling party for the entire call rather than tocharge the cellular/paging subscriber for calls incoming to thesubscriber. That is, with CPP/PPP services, the land-line user calling acellular or paging user will pay the land-line usage as well as the airtime charges associated with the call.

After an end-user dials the cellular/paging subscriber's telephonenumber, the end-user is prompted with an announcement indicating theywill be billed for the call. At such time, the end-user has the optionof continuing the call and being billed for the call, or hanging up ifthey do not want to incur the charges.

The prior art systems have limited features, and are unable to chargethe calling party under certain circumstances, such as when calls areinitiated from payphones, hotels, etc. These are commonly referred to as“leakage calls” originating from “leakage sources.”

1. The Digital Phone Network

FIG. 1 depicts a typical prior art Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN)used for call processing and routing. A calling party using telephonesubscriber unit 10 conveys dialing information to its End Office 20(EO), also known as a Service Switching Point (SSP) 20. The SSP 20routes the call to the called party's SSP 30 that routes the call to thecalled party's telephone subscriber unit 40. The calling party's SSP 20obtains the necessary information used to route the call to SSP 30 via aSignaling System 7 network (SS7), which includes a Signaling TransferPoint 50 (STP) and a Service Control Point 60 (SCP). Typically, the SCP60 has access to an External Data Base 70 (EDB) containing variousnetwork and subscriber data. As is well known in the art, the SS7Network is hierarchical, with the STP 50 having a routing function todirect SS7 communications to the appropriate SCP 60.

In the AIN network, call routing is performed using SS7. As is wellknown in the art, SS7 is generally made up of i) transport protocolsknown as Message Transfer Parts 1-3 (MTP) and the Signaling ConnectionControl Part (SCCP), and ii) user parts such as Transaction CapabilitiesApplication Part (TCAP), Telephone User Part (TUP), and ISDN User Part(ISUP), which use the lower level MTP and SCCP capabilities. TCAPprovides a way for an application at one node in the network to access adatabase at another node or to invoke the execution of a procedure atanother node. Further information about SS7 may be found in T. Russell,“Signaling System #7,”McGraw Hill (1995), the teachings of which areincorporated herein by reference.

Routing within an AIN network is performed based on dialed digits in theform of area code, exchange prefix, and line number, NPA-NXX-XXXX. Thearea code is referred to as a Numbered Plan Area (NPA) and the exchangeprefix is referred to as NXX. The subscriber line number XXXX are digitsseven through ten. Alternatively, the numbering format is often given asNXX-NXX-XXXX, where N can be any number 2-9, and X can be any number0-9. Throughout this specification NPA-NXX will be used to refer to thearea code and exchange prefix of a phone number.

In the AIN network the EO is typically a class 5 switch. The tandemswitch is of class 4, meaning that switching is performed between twotrunk lines and subscribers are typically not serviced directly. In theAIN network, cellular and paging service switches are typicallyconnected to a tandem switch. The NXX numbers assigned to the cellularproviders are associated, or “homed,” to the class 4 tandem switches.The class-5 SSPs are configured to route cellular and paging callsdirectly to the tandem.

2. Calling Party Pays

In prior art CPP systems (FIG. 2), SSP 20 routes cellular (or paging)calls from the calling subscriber unit 10 to the Tandem 80 based on thedialed NPA-NXX information. Based on the called party number, tandem 80launches a TCAP query to the SCP 60 to determine if the particularcellular or paging provider offers CPP services. In addition, the tandemqueries SCP 60 using the calling party's Automatic Numbering Identifier(ANI) to determine the billable status of the calling number based onits Charge Party Station Type (CPST).

The CPST is also referred to as “ANI II.” Some standard ANI II Codes aregiven: ANI II Code 00 is used to designate standard billable calls withno special attributes; ANI II Code 27 identifies a line connected to apay station which uses network provided coin control signaling; ANI IICode 29 is used to identify lines serving a confinement or detentionfacility that are intended for inmate/detainee use and require outwardcall screening (e.g., 0+collect only service); ANI II Code 70 identifiesa line connected to a pay station (including both coin and coinlessstations) which does not use network-provided coin control signaling.

If the SCP 60 determines that the called subscriber does not have a CPPoption, the SCP 60 instructs the tandem to route the call as normal tothe Mobile Telephone Switching Office 90 (MTSO) for transmission to thesubscriber unit 100. If, on the other hand, the SCP 60 determines thatthe cellular subscriber 100 (called party) has a CPP option, and thecalling subscriber unit 100 is of billable status, the SCP 60 instructsthe tandem 80 to route the call to the MTSO 90 and to create a billingrecord in an Automatic Message Accounting (AMA) data base 110 to recordthe charge to the calling party for the air-time associated with thecall. If the SCP 60 determines that the calling subscriber 100 is not ofbillable status, then the SCP 60 nevertheless instructs the tandem 80 toroute the call to the MTSO 90. The tandem 80 regards the call as leakageand may route the non-billable call to the MTSO 90 over a separatepre-designated trunk 120, wherein the use of that trunk indicates thatthe call has not been billed to the calling party. The cellular providermay then treat the call as “leakage” and not bill it, or the providercan charge the cellular subscriber for the air-time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The process described herein allows a cellular or paging system toprovide enhanced Calling Party Pays (CPP) or Paging Party Pays (PPP).The enhancements enable the system to 1) bill calls originating fromtraditionally non-billable sources, 2) route incoming calls to voicemailif the caller does not wish to incur the additional charges, 3) allowthe caller to complete the call and charge the cellular (or paging)subscriber for additional air-time usage when the caller enters a PIN orsecurity code, also referred to herein as a billing override code, and4) allow the caller to block CPP/PPP charges from being billed to thecalling party.

An object of the method described herein is to allow the cellular orpaging service provider to recover the costs of calls originating fromleakage sources by routing leakage calls to a billing service, such as acredit card billing service. The method involves the steps of receivinginformation containing a calling number and a called number; determiningthe billing status of the calling subscriber device in response to thereceived calling number; determining the billing preferences of thecalled subscriber device in response to the received called number; and,routing the call to a billing service provider if the billing status isdetermined to be billable and the billing preferences are calling partypays, thereby allowing the billing service provider to obtain billinginformation about the calling subscriber device. The method preferablyinvolves examining a database field containing the Charge Party StationType of the first subscriber device, and/or examining a database fieldcontaining billing preferences of the second subscriber device. Themethod steps are preferably performed at a service control point of anadvanced intelligent network, but may be performed on a distributedbasis within a network. Preferably, the called and calling servicecontrol point recognizes calls returned from the billing serviceprovider by examining the AIN of the incoming call, which is a ten digitpredetermined pseudo-code indicative of a successfully billed call. Thismethod is particularly advantageous in that it does not require the SCPto perform billing operations. The SCP advantageously does not have toaccess directly an outside billing service provider or maintain largedatabases containing billing information.

An object of the method described herein is to allow the cellular orpaging service provider to route calls to a voice mail service if thecalling party does not wish to incur additional charges for thecompletion of the call. The method involves playing a message to thecalling party and checking for a one digit response indicating they haveselected the voice mail option. The call is then routed to the MTSOvoice mail system.

It is a further object of the method described herein to allow thecaller to complete the call where the called party is billed forair-time charges by entering a PIN, or a calling party pays billingoverride code. The method of processing the call preferably involves thesteps of receiving information containing a called number correspondingto the second subscriber device; determining the billing preferences ofthe second subscriber device in response to the received called number;receiving and verifying a calling party pays override code; and routingthe call to the second subscriber device without charging additionalfees to the calling party.

It is also an object of the method described herein to allow the callerto block CPP/PPP services from their phone, thereby preventing CPP/PPPcalls from being charged to their account. Preferably, the value of theCharge Party Station Type (CPST) associated with the calling number ismodified within the SCP data base to reflect CPP blocking, PPP blocking,or both, by the addition of a one-digit CPST prefix.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will be more readily appreciated upon reference to thefollowing disclosure when considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a prior art advanced intelligent network;

FIG. 2 depicts a prior art calling party pays advanced intelligentnetwork; and,

FIGS. 3-9 show flow charts of the call processing of the preferredembodiment of the improved calling party pays service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred methods of enhanced Calling Party Pays and Paging PartyPays (CPP/PPP) are intended for use with cellular voice and/or datasystems and paging systems. References herein to “cellular” subscribersand systems are also intended to include paging subscribers and systems.Similarly, references to calling and called parties generally apply tocellular as well as paging calling and called parties. Where significantdifferences exist between enhanced CPP cellular and PPP paging systems,they will be specifically mentioned.

The preferred methods of enhanced calling party pays operate on theexisting digital telephone network infrastructure. However, manydevices, particularly the Service Control Point, have been altered inorder to perform the methods described herein.

The tandem switch preferably launches a TCAP query to its designatedSCP, via its designated STP. The TCAP query is launched based on astandard 3/6/10 trigger. The 3/6/10 trigger is a mechanism that teststhe 3 digits, 6 digits, or 10 digits, to determine if the called numbermeets certain criteria. This triggering mechanism is also referred to asa Specific Digit String (SDS) when the trigger is not specificallylimited to a three, six or ten digit string. The trigger may also be,e.g., seven, eight, or nine digits as well. The preferred criteriatypically consist of the NPA-NXX of the MTSOs connected to the tandem.The trigger may be configured for seven, eight, nine, or ten digits if aparticular NXX has been subdivided among a plurality of MTSOs.

The TCAP query includes the phone number dialed and the calling number,if available. The SCP performs a check to see if the call is directed toa CPP/PPP number. If it is so directed, the SCP determines the cellularprovider for the called subscriber device and the options associatedwith that provider.

The SCP determines whether it has information records associated withthe calling party based on the calling party's AIN. If the SCP does havedetailed information records, the SCP determines whether the callingparty has blocked CPP or PPP or both, and then determines thebillability of the calling party based on the ANI II (CPST). The CPSTcontains both the billable status information and the blocking statusinformation, and is stored in an external database.

If the number is not billable, or if the SCP does not have a record ofthe calling number, or if the calling number is not available, the SCPdetermines whether the called cellular provider has credit card billingor voice mail options enabled. If the provider does have at least one ofthese options, the tandem is instructed to play the appropriate messagedetermined by the options selected by the provider. If voice mail andcredit card billing is available, the tandem plays a message promptingthe calling party to indicate whether they would like to be connected tovoicemail, or in the alternative, whether the call should be forwardedto a credit card billing service, or billing service provider, tocollect billing information from the calling subscriber.

If the SCP determines that the calling number is not CPP blocked and isbillable from the CPST, the SCP then instructs the calling party, viathe tandem, to make a selection. The selection may indicate that thecalling party wishes to use a personal identification number (PIN) tooverride the CPP/PPP billing feature, whereupon the calling party isprompted for the entry of the PIN. If the PIN is valid, the call is notbilled to the calling party and the call is routed. The selection mayindicate that the calling party is willing to accept the charges,whereupon the calling party is billed and the call is routed.

With reference to FIG. 3, at step 200 the SSP waits for an off-hookcondition from the subscriber and provides dial tone at step 210 inresponse to the off-hook indication. At step 220 the SSP collects thedialed digits and checks to see if 10XXX service was dialed in step 230.If so, the SSP routes the call to the appropriate inter-exchange carrierat step 240. If not, the SSP determines at step 250 whether a mobileprefix was dialed. The SSP follows normal plain ordinary telephoneservice (POTS) routing at step 260 if the prefix was not for a mobile orpaging device. The originating end office (EO) must recognize if amobile or paging exchange was dialed. When a mobile number is called,the SSP/EO routes the call to the appropriate tandem or SSP at step 270.In the preferred embodiment, the MTSOs are connected to other switchesin a tandem configuration. These tandem switches typically do notservice any subscriber loops. In the event that the tandem also providessubscriber loops, they may also be referred to as SSPs.

The tandem switch launches a TCAP query at step 300 upon detection of apredetermined 3/6/10 trigger condition, or SDS trigger. The triggercriterion is preferably in accordance with TR 1284/1298 and TR1285/1299. A six-digit trigger is preferably used, triggering all of thecellular and paging calls. Alternatively, a trigger of 7, 8, or 9 digitsmay be used to conserve the number of non-CPP calls accessing the SCP.In the case of Type 1 traffic, the trigger may be on a seven or eightdigit basis. Since existing prefixes are used, each prefix will need tobe provisioned in the STP to route via Global Title Translations to theappropriate SCP.

The TCAP query is referred to as an Info_Analyzed message which includesamong other parameters the CallingPartyNumber (CPN),RedirectingInformation, RedirectionCalledPartyID, andOriginalCalledPartyID. The SCP will also note the Originating Point Codeto identify the originating office. The query is sent using the SS7protocols to the appropriate SCP via an STP. Initially, at step 310, theSCP screens the called number to determine if the cellular subscribersubscribes to the CPP service. Based on the screening, the SCP willreturn a Continue response to the tandem at step 320 if the cellularnumber is not a CPP subscriber.

With reference to FIG. 4, the SCP then checks at step 330 to see if thecall is one that is being returned from a Billing Service Provider(BSP), thereby indicating that the call has been processed for billingand should be routed as indicated at step 340. When the BSP returns thecall, it is routed to the tandem based on the called number (thecellular or paging subscriber number). The tandem launches a TCAP query,as stated above. The SCP determines that call is incoming from the BSPby examining a pseudo-code inserted into the CPN field by the BSP. Thepseudo-code is an arbitrary predetermined code that allows the SCP toidentify that the call is not an originating call, but that the call isbeing returned from the BSP after collection of billing information. Thepseudo-code is not an otherwise valid NPA-NXX-XXXX number.

If it is not a BSP call, then the SCP double checks the CIC at step 350to ensure the call is intended for the telephone carrier with which theSCP is associated. If not, the call is routed according to the CIC atstep 360. If it is intended for the carrier, the SCP then determines thetime zone and cellular/paging provider at steps 370 and 380.

The SCP also checks the redirection counter at step 390. If the call hasbeen redirected the redirecting party preferably is billed.Alternatively, the calling party may be billed, as indicated at step400. Thus, if the redirection counter is one the OriginalCalledPartyIDshould be used, if the Redirection counter is greater than one then theRedirectingPartyID should be used. The call is further processedaccording to the steps depicted in FIG. 8.

If the call has not been redirected, the SCP determines at step 410 ifthe CPN is available, and if not, the SCP determines whether theprovider has a BSP or voice mail (VM) option at step 420. If the optionis available, the SCP processes the call in accordance with the flowchart depicted in FIG. 9, discussed below. If the provider does not havea BSP/VM option, the call is processed according to the flow chartdepicted in FIG. 6, steps 800 and 810, which set the billable status to‘no’ and checks the Play Announcement Option. If, however, the CPN isavailable, the SCP checks at step 430 to see if the CPN is in its table.An entry of 2 in the table indicates that the calling party is not acustomer of the system associated with the SCP, in which case the ANI IIis set to 49 at step 450, and the call is processed in accordance withsteps depicted in FIG. 6.

An entry of 1 in the table at step 440 indicates the CPN is a customerof the system associated with the SCP, so the SCP queries its externaldatabase as shown in step 460 of FIG. 5. At step 470, if the externaldatabase (EDB) does not have an ANI II entry, the SCP checks at step 480as to whether the provider has a BSP/VM option. If the provider doeshave this option, the SCP processes the call as shown in FIG. 9. If suchoption exists, the SCP sets the ANI II to 49, and jumps to step 590.Steps 500-540 check to see whether the calling party has elected toblock CPP/PPP calls from their number. The ANI II (or CPST) values aretypically two digit numbers and therefore less than or equal to 99. TheANI IIs stored in the EDB are modified by adding a preceding digit inthe event a calling party has indicated they wish to block the CPP/PPPservices. A prefix of ‘1’ indicates the calling party wishes to blockcellular calling party pays, a prefix of ‘3’ indicates blocking ofpaging party pays is desired, and a prefix of ‘2’ indicates that bothshould be blocked. As shown, step 510 checks the CPN ANI II for a prefixof ‘1’ or ‘2’, which is the test for a call made to a cellular providerNPA-NXX.

If at step 550 the SCP determines that the ANI II is not billable, or ifthe ANI II was unavailable as determined in step 430, the SCP checks tosee if the provider has a BSP/VM option at step 560. If so, the call isprocessed as depicted in FIG. 9. If not, the call is marked asnon-billable at step 570. The SCP then determines at step 580 if theprovider nevertheless wishes to play an announcement regarding CPP/PPP.This is referred to herein as Play Announcement Option 2. The call isthen processed according to FIG. 6. Otherwise, the call is processed asshown in FIG. 8, which routes the call without playing anyannouncements.

If the ANI II indicates the call's CPN is billable, billing is set toyes in step 590, and at step 600 the SCP determines whether the PlayAnnouncement Option 1 is selected. Option 1 at step 600 is preferablyalways selected, otherwise, a calling party would be billed without anynotification. Standard worded announcements for billable parties arepre-loaded in targeted tandem offices. The wording for theseannouncements is preferably:

Cellular Providers:

-   -   “Welcome to (provider's name). At the request of the cellular        phone customer you are calling, charges of XX cents per minute        to complete this call will be added to your phone bill. To        continue, press one now. To avoid charges, hang up now. If you        are calling from a rotary phone, please hold. Your call will be        completed shortly. Normal usage rates apply.”

Paging Providers:

-   -   “Welcome to (provider's name). At the request of the customer        you are calling, a charge of XX cents will be made to your phone        bill. To complete this page, press one now.”

The wording may vary slightly based on customer preference and otherconsiderations. Separate announcements are preferably for peak and offpeak periods. Customized announcements are recorded, with up to twoannouncements per cellular provider, one peak announcement, one non-peakannouncement and a generic free day announcement. There are preferablythree generic price points for the BSP option and consequently, theprovider can choose from one of these three announcements for thisoption. Voicemail and VIP PIN options have generic announcements.

The SCP determines which announcement to play at steps 610, 620 and 630.There are preferably up to three announcements per cellular provider,one for peak hours; one for off-peak hours, and one for a free period.Based on the announcement option selected, the SCP will send aSend_to_Resource TCAP message directing the tandem/SSP to play theappropriate announcement and to collect digits. The announcementinforming the calling party that they will be billed for the call ifthey continue requires caller interaction: the entering of a ‘1’. TheSend_to_Resource message contains at least the following parameters:ResourceType, AnswerIndicator, and StrParameterBlock. TheStrParameterBlock includes an announcement ID indicating the appropriateannouncement as follows:

Announcement ID Announcement Verbiage 97 Please enter digits now 98 Thatentry is not valid 99 The person you are calling subscribes to CallingParty Pays service. To complete this call for a charge of XX cents perminute on your telephone or bank credit card, press one. To avoidcharges, hang up now. 100 The person you are calling subscribes toCalling Party Pays service which cannot be used at the phone you arecalling from. To Leave a message for this person, press three and recordyour message at the tone. 101 The person you are calling subscribes toCalling Party Pays service. To complete this call for a charge of XXcents per minute on your-telephone or bank credit card, press one. Toleave a message for this person, at no charge, press three and recordyour message at the tone. 102 That choice is not available. 103 Tocomplete this call for a charge of XX cents per minute on your telephoneor bank credit card, press one. To avoid charges, hang up now. 104 Toleave a message for this person, press three and record your message atthe tone. 105 To complete this call for a charge of XX cents per minuteon your telephone or bank credit card, press one. To leave a message forthis person, at no charge, press three and record your message at thetone. 106 The person your are calling subscribes to Calling Party Paysservice. Calling Party Pays has been blocked by the owner of the phonenumber you are calling from.

When the calling party enters a ‘1’ or the timer expires, the SSP sendsa Resource_Clear message to the SCP containing the parameters ClearCauseand CollectedDigits. If the Resource_Clear message indicates that theannouncement is unavailable, as shown in 870, then the record is markedas non-billable in step 880.

If the provider does not offer a PIN/billing override option asdetermined at step 640, the SCP determines if the customer entered asingle digit at step 650, and if so, the call is processed as shown inFIG. 7. If the caller is using a rotary phone the call is processed viasteps 660, 870, 890, and then in accordance with the steps shown in FIG.8. The customer must hang up if they do not wish to be billed for thecall. The call will then be disconnected as shown in step 670. If thecaller does not enter a single digit, the process follows steps 660,870, 890, and 900, resulting in an error condition. The result istermination of the call.

If the provider offers a PIN option, the SCP checks at step 680 to seeif the caller has entered a ‘2’, even though the announcement preferablydoes not indicate this as a valid entry. If a ‘2’ was entered, a tone isplayed at step 690, and the PIN entry is validated as shown in steps 700and 710. If valid, the call is processed as shown in steps 720, 730, andthen as shown in FIG. 8. In steps 780 and 790, an announcement givingthe caller an additional attempt to enter the PIN is played in the eventa customer enters an invalid PIN (or other than four digits—see step700). This announcement is generic and is shared by all cellularproviders. If the customer does not enter a valid PIN the second timethe call is terminated as shown in steps 750 and 760.

As shown in FIG. 7, if a digit other than ‘1’ is received (step 820),the SCP will respond with another Send_to_Resource message and play arecording (step 830) giving the caller another chance to enter a ‘1’.This announcement is generic and is shared by all cellular providers. Ifthe customer does not enter a digit, step 840 directs the process tostep 850, which disconnects the call. If the Resource_Clear messagedoesn't contain a ‘1’ the second time, step 860 directs the process toterminate the call at step 850. If the customer does enter a ‘1’, thecall is passed to FIG. 8.

The ‘play announcement’ options available to the customer allow thecustomer to select whether the announcement is played all of the time ornot played if the call is non-billable. Option 1 or 2 or both may beselected. Option 1 indicates a message will be played if the CPN isavailable and the CPST is billable. As stated above, it is preferablyalways selected. Option 2 indicates a message will be played even thoughthe CPST is non-billable, regardless of whether the CPN is available.

With reference to FIG. 8, the SCP determines if the NPA screeningfeature is on. This feature allows certain NPAs to be designated asnonbillable. Steps 910, 920 and 930 perform this function. After the NPAscreening is performed, the SCP determines in step 940 the appropriatetrunk over which to route the call. This determination is made based onthe billing status and the BSP/VM status, in view of the preferencesselected by the service provider. At step 950, the SCP sends anAnalyze_Route TCAP response to the tandem/SSP. The Analyze_Route messagecontains at least the following parameters: CallingPartyID, PrimaryTrunk Group, AMALineNumber and AMAslpID. The route index will bepopulated on a table based on the originating point code of the call.The tandem then creates the appropriate billing record and routes thecall as shown in steps 960 and 970.

With reference to FIG. 9, the SCP determines at step 980 which BSP/VMoption is appropriate, and directs the tandem/SSP to play theannouncement at step 990. The TCAP Send_to_Resource message and responseare also used for BSP, VM or BSP/VM options, as well as the PIN option.The above-mentioned Send_to_Resource and Resource_Clear parameters areused in each case. The announcement wording for CPP with BSP option ispreferably:

-   -   “The Party you have called has elected Calling Party Pays        service. The charges for this call cannot be billed to the        number from which you are calling. If you wish to bill this to a        credit card, press ‘1’, to leave a voicemail for this customer        press ‘3’.”

For providers only having one of the options, the preferredannouncements are as follows: for BSP option only:

-   -   “The Party you have called has elected Calling Party Pays        service. The charges for this call cannot be billed to the        number from which you are calling. If you wish to bill this to a        credit card, press ‘1’.”

For Voicemail Option Only:

-   -   “The Party you have called has elected Calling Party Pays        service. The charges for this call cannot be billed to the        number from which you are calling, to leave a voicemail for this        customer press ‘3’.”

If the caller has hung up, the call is disconnected as indicated insteps 1000 and 1010. Otherwise, the call is processed according to steps1020, 1030 and 1040 if the caller has indicated a voice mail option, andthe call is processed as described above with reference to FIG. 8. Thecall is processed according to steps 1020, 1050, 1060, and 1070 forrouting in accordance with FIG. 8. The ANI II is set to ‘53’ so thatwhen the AMA record is generated at step 960, it will be clear that thecall had been routed to the BSP. Recall that step 330 determines if thecall is from a BSP, and if so, the call is simply routed, and no AMArecord is generated at that time. Similarly, calls sent to voicemailshould be coded as nonbillable, and the ANI II is set to ‘54’ as shownin step 1030.

If the caller enters a digit other than 1 or 3, the entry is checked tosee if it is a 2 at step 1080, and if so, is routed to the PINprocessing section at step 680. If the entry is not a 2, the caller isgiven a second chance by replaying the message at step 990 afterincrementing the try counter at step 1100. If the caller has already hada second chance, the call is processed via steps 1090, 1110, and isdisconnected at step 1120.

Calls to the Billing Service Provider (BSP) will be sent with FeatureGroup C with the following format KP+I+10 digits (called number)+ST. TheBSP will return the following over Feature Group D trunk: KP+II+ANI+ST;KP+10 digits+ST.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention has been describedherein. It is to be understood, of course, that changes andmodifications may be made in the embodiment without departing from thetrue scope of the present invention, as defined by the appended claims.

1. A system for processing a calling party pays call initiated by afirst subscriber device to a second subscriber device, the systemcomprising: a processor; a switch operative to transmit, to theprocessor, an automatic number identifier (ANI) of the first subscriberdevice comprising a calling number and a called number; and a databasecomprising a field comprising the billing preferences of the secondsubscriber device; wherein the processor is operative to determine thata billing status of the first subscriber device is nonbillable based ona charge party station type (CPST) of the first subscriber device and,in response to that determination, perform at least one of thefollowing: route the call to a voice mail provider or route the call toa billing service provider; and wherein the processor is furtheroperative to determine that the billing preference of the secondsubscriber is calling party pays and the processor determines that thebilling preferences of the second subscriber is calling party pays byexamining the field in the database.
 2. The system of claim 1 furthercomprising a database comprising a field comprising the CPST of thefirst subscriber device, and wherein the processor is further operativeto determine that the billing status of the first subscriber device isnonbillable by examining the field in the database.
 3. The system claim1, wherein the processor comprises a service control point.
 4. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the switch comprises a tandem switch.
 5. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the switch is operative to transmit the ANIof the first subscriber device to the processor using a TCAP route thecall to a voice mail provider, and wherein the switch is furtheroperative component of a signaling system 7 protocl.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the processor is operative to route the call to a voicemail provider, and wherein the switch is further operative to play amessage to the first subscriber device indicating that voice mail is anoption.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is operative toroute the call to a voice mail provider, and wherein the switch isfurther operative to play a message to the first subscriber deviceindicating that no additional charges are associated with the voice mailoption.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is operative toboth route the call to the voice mail provider and to route the call tothe billing service provider, and wherein the switch is furtheroperative to prompt the first subscriber device to choose whether theprocessor should route the call to the voice mail provider or route thecall to the billing service provider.
 9. The system of claim 1, whereinthe first subscriber device is associated with a calling party, andwherein the processor is further operative to route the call to thesecond subscriber device without charging additional fees to the callingparty in response to receiving a calling party pays override code fromthe calling party.
 10. A method of processing a call initiated by afirst subscriber device to a second subscriber device, the methodcomprising: receiving an automatic number identifier (ANI) of the firstsubscriber device comprising a calling number and a called numberdetermining a billing status of the first subscriber device based on acharge party station type (CPST) of the first subscriber device;determining billing preferences of the second subscriber device inresponse to the received called number, the billing preferences beingcalling party pays; receiving and verifying a calling party paysoverride code from a calling party associated with the first subscriberdevice; and in response to receiving and verifying the calling partypays override code, routing the call to the second subscriber devicewithout charging additional fees to the calling party, even if thebilling status is determined to be billable.
 11. The method of claim 10,wherein the second subscriber device is associated with a calledsubscriber, and wherein the method further comprises creating a billingrecord indicating the call is to be billed to the called subscriber. 12.The method of claim 10, further comprising playing a message indicatinga PIN should be entered.
 13. The method of claim 10, wherein a servicecontrol point determines the billing status and the billing preferences.14. The method of claim 10, wherein the ANI is received via a TCAPcomponent of a signaling system 7 protocol.
 15. A method of processing acall initiated by a first subscriber device to a second subscriberdevice, the method comprising: receiving an automatic number identifier(ANI) of the first subscriber device comprising a calling number and acalled number; determining a billing status of the first subscriberdevice based on a charge party station type (CPST) of the firstsubscriber device; determining billing preferences of the secondsubscriber device in response to the received called number, the billingpreferences being calling party pays; and terminating the call if theCPST indicates that calling party pays billing is blocked from thecalling number.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein terminating the callfurther comprises: playing a message indicating that calling party paysis blocked; and disconnecting the call.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein a service control point determines the billing status and thebilling preferences.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein the ANI isreceived via a TCAP component of a signaling system 7 protocol.